Start by cutting a red circle with your plastic cutting tool and blade. You can use any size you’d like, just make sure it’s small enough to fit in your origami paper.

Kirigami Khatam Tutorial by A Crafty Arab

Fold your circle in half and then in half again.

Kirigami Khatam Tutorial by A Crafty Arab

This next step is important and must be followed up with a bone fold to make it nice and crisp. If you look at the photo below, you’ll see that we folded the paper in half again, but in opposite directions. You accomplish this by folding over one side in one direction, then flipping your paper over and folding the other side in the oppose direction.

Kirigami Khatam Tutorial by A Crafty Arab

Cut off the round part of your shape. Now your new shape should look like the tip of an arrow.

Kirigami Khatam Tutorial by A Crafty Arab

Holding the paper very snug so there is no movement, cut out different shapes and designs on the side of your shape.

Kirigami Khatam Tutorial by A Crafty Arab

Open your khatam and add glue all over. Notice we put very little glue. You don’t want to saturate the paper and/or have the glue ooze out of the sides. A little glue goes a long way!

Kirigami Khatam Tutorial by A Crafty Arab

Lay your glue side down on the shiny part of the origami paper and cut around your kirigami khatam shape, leaving a nice border.

Kirigami Khatam Tutorial by A Crafty Arab

Let it dry and your Kirigami Khatam is complete! You can add it to your window display, use it as a gift tag for an Eid present, or decorate your kitchen cabinets with a few of them, which is what we are planning to do!

Be sure to stop by A Crafty Arab on Pinterest for more fun tutorials that reach about the Arab world.